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Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Rise of the SUPER Women

The rise of the SUPER Woman

Women could soon be retiring with more money than men

Today’s women are leading the men in the art of making their money work for them (whilst the men seem to be still “working for the money”).

More women than ever before are choosing to participate in the Self Managed Super Fund arena, and now for the first time, the female investors outnumber the men!

Australian Business Register figures show that in the 35-44 age bracket, there are almost 16% females in SMSF’s, compared to just 13% for their male counterparts.

The figures are higher in the 45-54 age bracket, with 28% of women in SMSF’s, as opposed to just 25% of men.

Again, in the pre-retirees age of 55-64, female members of SMSF’s outnumber the men by almost 35% to 34%.

For the first time, women’s super balances may exceed men’s; due to the females taking more control.

Although traditionally women spend less time in the workforce due to raising a family, and even though the balance of the average super fund is still higher for a male ($107 000 compared to $81 000 for women), be prepared for this to shift.

Last year, a man in the default balanced option of an Australian super fund may have been fortunate enough to gain 11%. A woman who chose to have a SMSF invested into her own choice of property, shares or index funds could have made returns of 34% or up to 93%.

Based on performances such as these, and the potential for greater returns from greater choice, the average woman could soon be retiring with more money than the average man, not from working harder or longer, but by working smarter.

“Women will ask for directions (regarding money), something men may fail to do.”

Wealth coach & financial commentator Jeremy Britton says that increasing numbers of women are asking for more control and more options with their investments.

“Women are now more likely to start asking questions if their money is not performing, and more likely to look closely at what is available to them as an alternative. This could include Self Managed Super Funds, gearing inside of super, direct shares, i-shares, warrants, options, CFD’s or index funds as opposed to traditional managed funds”.

“For women, this (going to a financial adviser) may be like asking for directions; something that men may feel less confident doing.”

“Perhaps the men do not wish to request financial advice for the same reason that men generally do not ask for directions, they often seek less medical advice and men will generally not ask for help whilst fixing things.It could possibly be seen as less manly. What the men have to realise is that no-one can be an expert on everything, and it is OK to seek advice on your money.”

Statistics tell us that the women are making more informed choices about their financial future, and no longer relying on a man or the government to look after them.

With more marriages ending in divorce and the growing number of women in the workforce and in business, the trend could be for women to accumulate more money than the men over their working life.

This accumulation of more money is despite the fact that women are still likely to earn lower wages than men in a similar role, and more likely to have shorter time in the workforce, due to raising children.

Perhaps if the men were bold enough to ask for assistance (directions), then they too, could make more money in less time. It will be interesting to see which occurs first: more men asking for financial advice, or women accumulating greater retirement savings than the men.

Whilst having a SMSF is not a guarantee that you will make more money than someone without a SMSF, the growing number of female SMSF owners can be an indicator that many more women are asking for what they want in the financial arena.

Investors (male or female) who ask questions, seek education and request financial advice are more likely to make better money in future than those who do not seek advice.

WARNING

The above is general advice only. Always deal with a qualified and licensed professional who can advise you on your own unique situation. Jeremy Britton is the author of “Who’s Taking Your Money? (and how to get some of it back!)”. The book is available in bookshops or online & has a money-back guarantee.

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About Me

A professional financial planner, Jeremy Britton was an expert at making money (but not true wealth).

After making a fortune for himself and creating financial wealth for thousands of clients, Jeremy was to discover that there was more to life than money. A heart attack at 33 made Jeremy search for *24hour wealth*, or "wealth in all areas".